Pappu Yadav supporters clash with securitymen

PTIDec 2, 2004, 03.08am IST

PATNA: A scuffle broke out today between security personnel at the Beur Central Jail and supporters of incarcerated Rashtriya Janta Dal MP Pappu Yadav during a surprise check by I G (Prisons), who objected to the presence of "large number of unidentified visitors" meeting the MP.

"There was a heated argument between supporters of Yadav and the jail staff during the visit of IG (Prisons) Deepak Kumar Singh, but there was no violence," Bihar minister for jails Raghvendra Pratap Singh said.

Mr Yadav has been in jail in connection with the murder of CPM MLA Ajit Sarkar. IG (Prisons) made a surprise inspection of the jail in the wake of reports that several jailbirds were making extortion calls to doctors and other professionals.

During the course of inspection, he found that Yadav had a large numbers of visitors who were not bearing even the visitor's identification mark and ordered them out, official sources said.

This sparked-off a verbal duel between the jail staff and Yadav's supporters, they said. Bihar's jail department has been in the line of fire after the Patna High Court observed that criminals were running their operations from behind the bars.